NO PAY:Firms are not legally required to declare air pollution holidays, and if they do, employees do not have to be paid unless they have been told to be on stand-by
Taipei Times
Date: Sep 07, 2015
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
Criteria for “air pollution days off” have been announced by the Occupational
Emissions from factory smokestacks are seen in Kaohsiung on May 25. Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The Ministry of Labor organization said that working outdoors should be halted when the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) exceeds 500 or the concentration level of airborne pollutants measuring less than 2.5 micrometers — PM2.5 —is above 500 micrograms per cubic meter.
Outdoor activities should be suspended for workers more vulnerable to air pollution — those with chronic respiratory disease or cardiovascular disease, pregnant women and senior workers — when the PSI is between 400 and 499 or the PM2.5 level is above 350.4 micrograms per cubic meter, OSHA said as it promulgated the new rules last week. [FULL STORY]
